Trump Isn't Going De-Escalate the Situation in Minneapolis - Not Even a Little Bit

When President Trump says he plans to "de-escalate a little bit" in Minneapolis, I do not believe him.

Given his strong predisposition to lying, he does not get the benefit of the doubt from me and shouldn't get it from anyone else.

In this particular situation, the reason I do not believe Trump is because a) Trump is always about escalation b) in fact he hasn't de-escalated at all and c) having ICE and border patrol agents is exactly what he wants.

Escalation is Trump's stock and trade. It is how he got to the White House - twice. Trump has the threat of the Insurrection Act in his back pocket and, sooner or later, he will trigger it. When Trump tells his generals of an enemy within his objective is to declare war on the American people and our rights enshrined in the Constitution including the First, Second and Fourth Amendments. Alex Pretti found this out in the hardest way imaginable.

Trump's escalatory disposition is reflected in the values of ICE. As I argued following the execution of Renee Good:

I wish I could say that I am surprised an ICE agent would shoot and kill an American citizen.

My only surprise is that it did not happen before now.

But now that it has happened, let there be no doubt that ICE is a paramilitary organization who sees fit to use violence as a first resort. Consequently, aside from removing people deemed by the Trump Administration as undesirable, killing American citizens is now part of ICE's job description.

If there is a situation, they will be sure to escalate it. There is no incentive nor reward for restraint.

The only way Trump can de-escalate the situation is if he orders ICE and their accomplices to get the fuck out of Minneapolis and never bother anyone again. 

The odds of Trump doing this are about as likely as publicly admitting that Joe Biden beat him in the 2020 election.

So long as Trump wields power, Minneapolis let alone America will never again no peace. We voted for escalation and this is exactly what we have been given. In the first term, it was the spread of COVID. In this term, it's the spread of authoritarianism.

Authoritarians don't de-escalate. Not even a little bit.